Apparatus for driving drain pipes

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for driving drain pipes and other elongated objects has a supporting frame and a hammer mounted on this frame for pendulum movement relative thereto and having a head adapted to impact a trailing end of an object to be driven. A drive imparts the pendulum movement to the hammer and includes a pivot shaft that is turnably mounted on the frame, a drum that is freely turnably mounted on the pivot shaft surrounding the same, an elongated flexible cable or the like having one end fixed to the drum and another end fixed to the hammer, a first clutch section mounted on the drum for rotation with the same and a second clutch section mounted on the shaft for rotation with the same but with freedom of axial movement relative to the shaft. One or more motors rotate the shaft, and a control intermittently moves the second clutch section into motion-transmitting engagement with the first clutch section so that the drum rotates with the shaft for the duration of this engagement.

United States Patent 1191 Watanabe 1 1 .Se t. 9 1975 [54] APPARATUS FOR DRIVING DRAIN PIPES 3,586,] 12 6/1971 Kelley 173/100 X [76] Inventor: Hiltoitsu Watanabe, No. 5-13, FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS lwhome. Ebara-chon Nakano-ku, 271,745 6/1927 United Kingdom 173/100 Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: June 10, 1974 Primary Examiner-Ernest R. Purser Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Saul Jecies [21] Appl. No.: 477,783

Related US. Application Data ABSTRACT [62] Division of Ser. No. 391,984, Aug 27, 1973 An apparatus for driving drain P p and other elongated objects has a supporting frame and a hammer [30] Foreign Application Priority D t mounted on this frame for pendulum movement rela- June 27 1973 Japan 4s-75530w hereto and having a head adapted to impact a Feb [973 Japan 4846526 trailing end of an object to be driven. A drive imparts Man 27 1973 Japan I I u 4834091 the pendulum movement to the hammer and includes July 17 1973 Japan. M 4 48 79949 a pivot shaft that is tumably mounted on the frame, :1 Aug. 29 1972 Japan..11...".......:::.:,:.,.:.:.47-85883 drum that is freely mounted the shaft surrounding the same, an elongated flexible 52 [1.8. CL i I 173 37. 73 2. 7 cable 01' the like having one end fixed 110 the drum and I [73/1 another end fixed to the hammer, a first clutch section [5 l l [m CLZ I I EZIC 3/08, EOZD 7/08 mounted on the drum for rotation with the same and a [58] Field of |73/3l 33 second clutch section mounted on the shaft for rota- I73/3S 37 I00 112 113 6 tion with the same but with freedom of axial movement relative to the shaft. One or more motors rotate [56] Re'erences Cited the shaft, and a control intermittently moves the second clutch section into motion-transmitting engage- UNITED STATES PATENTS ment with the first clutch section so that the drum ro- 418,449 12/1889 Cody 173/100 tales with the shaft for the duration of this engage 914,545 3/1909 Akin 173/126 ment 1,968,892 8/1934 Jowett et a1. 173/35 3,302,731 2/1967 Perry 173/112 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 8 57 58 6Q 52 59 e7 6 52 59 68 1 r50 PATENTED SEP 9 I975 SHiET 1 0F 6 PATENTEUSEP 9|975 3.903 971 sum 2 OF 5 sum 3 or 5 own.

v0 on 3 mm on PATENTEU SEP 9 3975 saw 5 or 5 PATENTED SE? 975 sum 5 OF APPARATUS FOR DRIVING DRAIN PIPES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This is a division of application Ser. No. 391,984 filed Aug. 27, 1973.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for driving drain pipes into the natural slopes, earth dams or enbankments, the drain pipes being driven into the ground without disturbing the stability of the slopes or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a drain pipe driving apparatus best adapted to drive the drain piles into the slopes or embankments.

The present invention provides driving apparatus provided with a pendulum-like motor-driven hammer and adapted to drive drain pipes into the slopes or the like at any position thereof in a very efficient manner.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of a driving apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the interior of a motor-driven hammer thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side view thereof;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views of the driving apparatus shown in FIG. 9 illustrating the steps of driving the drain pipe;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective view illustrating an other driving appratus and the steps of driving the drain pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7 the driving apparatus generally indicated by 50 and 51 for driving the drain pipe of the type described hereinbefore into the ground will be described hereinafter. The driving apparatus 51 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is used for driving the drain pipes into the ground relatively close to the base of the slope whereas the driving apparatus 51 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used for driving the drain pipes into the slope except the place where the driving apparatus 50 is applicable.

Referring to FIG. 1 the driving apparatus generally indicated by 50 comprises three supports 54a, 54b, and 540 each of which consists of a top brace member 52 and a pair of legs 53 joined to pedestals 56, respectively, through turnbuckles so that the height of each leg 53 may be adjustable. An anchor pile 57 is driven into the ground through a hole formed through the pedestal 56 so that the pedestal 56 may be securely held in position. A socket 58 is securely fixed to the top brace member 52 at the center thereof for receiving therein the end ofa guide rod 59 ofa desired length. The guide rods 59 are securely held in the sockets 58 by means of bolts 60. Therefore the supports 54a, 54b and 540 may be spaced apart by a predetermined distance from each other and held securely upon the ground.

The driving apparatus 50 further comprises a movable frame generally indicated by 61 and adapted to move along the guide rods 59. The movable frame 6] comprises a horizontal beam carried by carriages 67, a vertical rod 62 extending downwardly from the end of the horizontal beam remote from the right carriage 67 and having its lower end terminated into a guide plate 64 with a drain pipe guide hole 63, and a pair of quadrant guide members 65 having their ends joined to the horizontal and vertical beams, respectively. The pair of guide members 65 also serve as brace members between the horizontal and vertical beams 61 and 62, and guide a pendulum rod 69 of a motor-driven hammer 66 to be described in more detail hereinafter. The carriages 67 are similar in construction, and each comprises a pair of frames 67 having a roller 68 attached thereto. The rollers 68 ride on the guide rods 59 so that the movable frame 61 may be movable in parallel with the guide rods 59 as the drain pipe 30 is driven into the ground in a manner to be described in more detail hereinafter.

In order to drive the drain pipe 30 into the ground, the pendulum-like motor-driven hammer 66 suspended by the pendulum rod 69 which in turn is pivoted to the right carriage 67 with a pivot 70 and is guided by the guide members 65 so as to prevent the lateral movement.

Next referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 the motor-driven hammer 66 will be described. Within a housing 71 a pair of motors 73 are mounted upon a mount 72, and a winch comprising a drum 77 with a wire rope 78 wound therearound and a clutch 76 is loosely supported by a shaft which in turn in supported by a pair of brackets 74 securely fixed to the mount 72. The rotation of each motor 73 is transmitted to the shaft 75 through a belt drive consisting of a drive pulley 80 fixed to a driving shaft of the motor 73, a driven pulley 81 fixed to the shaft 75 and an endless belt 82 wrapped around the driving and driven pulleys 80 and 81.

The right clutch section 76 which is loaded with a spring 91 is provided with an annular groove 83 into which is fitted a pin 85 extending from one end of an actuating or operating lover 84 which is pivoted to the base 72 with a pin 86 and whose the other end is pivoted to a plunger with pin 88 of a plunger and solenoid assembly 87. Therefore as the plunger and solenoid assembly 87 is energized or de-energized the right clutch section 76 is slidably moved along the shaft 75 to engage with or disengage from the mating left clutch section 89.

One end of the wire rope 78 is securely fixed to the drum 77 whereas the other end is fixed to an car 90 fixed to the horizontal beam 61 (See FIG. I).

A brace rod 92 which is joined to the brackets 74 serves to ensure the wire rope 78 to be wound around the drum 77.

When the motors 73 which are supplied with power through a cable 93 are driven, their rotation is transmitted to the clutch section through the driving pulley 80, the endless belt 82, the driven pulley 81 and the shaft 75. When the clutch section 76 is engaged with the mating clutch section 89 as the plunger and solenoid assembly 87 is energized. the drum 72 which is loosely fitted over the shaft 75 is rotated to wind the wire rope 78 theraround. As a consequence the motor-driven hammer 66 is swung about the pin 70 upwardly. When the solenoid 87 is de-energized when the motor-driven hammer 66 is lifted to a predetermined height, the right clutch section 86 is disengaged from the left clutch section 89 so that the free rotation of the drum 77 is permitted. As a result the motor-driven hammer 66 swings back to drive the drain pipe 30 as shown in FIG. 12. The pendulum-like driving operation is cycled so that the drain pipe 30 is gradually driven into the ground as shown in FIG. 5.

The driving apparatus 51 which will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 is substantially similar in construction to the driving apparatus 50 except its supports or supporting frames are different. As shown in FIG. 6 the left end of the guide rod 94 is joined to a pipe 96 with a bolt 97 of a foot member 95 securely held in position on the slope by means of anchor piles 109. The right end of the guide rod 94 is sup ported by a supporting frame generally indicated by 103. The supporting frame 103 comprises an inverted U-shaped upper leg 99 whose lower end portions are telescopically fitted into lower legs 101 whose lower ends are securely fixed to pedestals 100 which in turn are securely held in position by means of the anchor piles 109. The height of the supporting frame 103 is therefore adjustable and the inverted U-shaped leg 99 can be securely held in position relative to the lower legs by means of bolts 102.

The supporting frame 103 is further supported by a pair of telescopic brace means, each comprising an inner brace rod 105 whose one end is pivoted to the inverted U-shaped leg 99 with a pin or rivet 104 and whose the other end portion is telescopically fitted into and securely held in position with respect to an outer brace pipe 107 with a bolt 108. The outer brace pipe 107 is securely fixed to a foot which in turn is securely held in position on the slope by means of the anchor piles 109. The length of the telescopic brace means is therefore adjustable. Furthermore stay wire ropes or chains 110 are extended from anchor bolts(not shown) driven into the ground on the slope and are fixed to hooks 111 fixed to the pedestals 100 so that the pedestals 100 so that the pedestals 100 may be further securely held in position.

The movable frame 61 and the pendulum-like motordriven hammer 66 are mounted in a manner substantially similar to that of the driving apparatus 50, but it should be noted that the motor-driven hammer 66 is not suspended from the carriage 67 but from a suspending frame 112 fixed to the horizontal beam 61, that instead of the guide plate 64 a U-shaped guide member 64 made of a rod is used and that the 53 guide members 65 are straight. The above arrangements different from those of the driving apparatus 50 are merely a matter of design, and both the driving apparatus 50 and 51 are based upon the same principle.

The driving apparatus 50 or 51 is used to drive the drain pipes 30 into the slope depending upon the positions on the slope where the drain pipes 30 are driven. ln operation the movable frame 61 is moved to the initial or right position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, and the drain pipe 30 to be driven is inserted through the guide plate or member 64 so that the drill section of the drain pipe 30 may be placed in correct position. Thereafter an impact receiving cap 114 is screwed to the rear end of the drain pipe section 31, so that the starting position of the guide member or plate 64 and hence the movable frame 61 is automatically determined. Thereafter the motor-driven hammer 66 is operated in the manner described hereinbefore to give the driving impact to the impact receiving cap 114, thereby driving the drain pipe 30 into the ground. As the drain pipe 30 into the ground the movable frame 61 and hence the motordriven pendulum hammer 66 are automatically advanced because of the engagement of the impact receiving cap 114 with the guide plate or member 64 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

So far the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, but it is to be understood that variations and modifications may be effected without departing the true spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An appatatus for driving drain pipes and other elongated objects, comprising a supporting frame;

a hammer mounted on said frame for pendulum movement relative thereto and having a head adapted to impact a trailing end of an object to be driven; and

drive means for imparting said pendulum movement to said hammer, comprising a pivot shaft turnably mounted on said frame, a drum freely turnably surrounding said pivot shaft, an elongated flexible element having one end fixed to said drum and another end fixed to said hammer, a first clutch section mounted on said drum for rotation therewith, a second clutch section mounted on said shaft for rotation with the same but with freedom of axial movement relative to said shaft, motor means for rotating said shaft, and control means for intermittently moving said second clutch section into motion-transmitting engagement with said first clutch section so that said drum rotates with said shaft for the duration of said motion-transmitting engagement,

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said hammer comprises a head and a rod which extends from said head and has a free end portion; and wherein said drive means further comprises a housing, said shaft mounting said free end portion on said housing so that the rod tends to be in vertical orientation due to the weight of said head, and wherein said control means intermittently moves said second clutch section out of motion-transmitting engagement with said first clutch section when said head and rod are in substantially horizontal orientation, for gravity descent of said head and rod to vertical orientation.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame comprises a plurality of sections of substantially inverted U-shape which are arranged in a row, and at least one elongated bracing member rigidly connecting said sections to one another.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3; and further comprising a sub-frame mounted on said frame and movable longitudinally of said row, said hammer being mounted on said sub-frame.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said sub-frame comprises at least one carriage suspended from and movable along said bracing member; and mounting means pivotally mounting said hammer on said carriage.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame comprises a frame section of substantially in verted U-shape and having an upper end region, and at least one elongated bracing member having one end fixed to said upper end region and a free adapted to rest on the ground.

her for movement longitudinally thereof, said hammer being mounted on said sub-frame.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said sub-frame comprises a portion projecting downwardly from said bracing member, and wherein said hammer is pivoted to said portion. 

1. An appatatus for driving drain pipes and other elongated objects, comprising a supporting frame; a hammer mounted on said frame for pendulum movement relative thereto and having a head adapted to impact a trailing end of an object to be driven; and drive means for imparting said pendulum movement to said hammer, comprising a pivot shaft turnably mounted on said frame, a drum freely turnably surrounding said pivot shaft, an elongated flexible element having one end fixed to said drum and another end fixed to said hammer, a first clutch section mounted on said drum for rotation therewith, a second clutch section mounted on said shaft for rotation with the same but with freedom of axial movement relative to said shaft, motor means for rotating said shaft, and control means for intermittently moving said second clutch section into motion-transmitting engagement with said first clutch section so that said drum rotates with said shaft for the duration of said motiontransmitting engagement.
 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said hammer comprises a head and a rod which extends from said head and has a free end portion; and wherein said drive means further comprises a housing, said shaft mounting said free end portion on said housing so that the rod tends to be in vertical orientation due to the weight of said head, and wherein said control means intermittently moves said second clutch section out of motion-transmitting engagement with said first clutch section when said head and rod are in substantially horizontal orientation, for gravity descent of said head and rod to vertical orientation.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame comprises a plurality of sections of substantially inverted U-shape which are arranged in a row, and at least one elongated bracing member rigidly connecting said sections to one another.
 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3; and further comprising a sub-frame mounted on said frame and movable longitudinally of said row, said hammer being mounted on said sub-frame.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said sub-frame comprises at least one carriage suspended from and movable along said bracing member; and mounting means pivotally mounting said hammer on said carriage.
 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame comprises a frame section of substantially inverted U-shape and having an upper end region, and at least one elongated bracing member having one end fixed to said upper end region and a free adapted to rest on the ground.
 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, said frame section having upright legs; and further comprising additional elongated bracing members each having one end fixed to one of said legs and another free end adapted to rest on the ground.
 8. An apparatus as defined in claim 6; and further comprising a sub-frame mounted on said bracing member for movement longitudinally thereof, said hammer being mounted on said sub-frame.
 9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said sub-frame comprises a portion projecting downwardly from said bracing member, and wherein said hammer is pivoted to said portion. 